Best Student/note Taking Inks

[Gabi]

It was towards the end of last year that I found myself hopelessly in love (to the dismay of my wallet) with fountain pens. I've amassed a respectable 4 (2 Pelikan, 1 Lamy & 1 unidentified Cross) pens & as my first ink I chose Noodler's Periwinkle...a beautiful color, yet not fantastic for ever day writing (especially not in my medium nibs). I've a bottle of MB's Racing Green on it's way over from Germany & now all I need is a nice, every day well behaved, waterproof ink.

 

I don't much care what color it is, just that it's waterproof & well behaved in a medium nib and (against my better judgment) I will pay out my arse for it. So, does anyone know of some solid, waterproof well mannered inks?

 

Thanks so much! In the mean time, I'll be browsing the Ink Review forum!

[Yoda4561]

It was towards the end of last year that I found myself hopelessly in love (to the dismay of my wallet) with fountain pens. I've amassed a respectable 4 (2 Pelikan, 1 Lamy & 1 unidentified Cross) pens & as my first ink I chose Noodler's Periwinkle...a beautiful color, yet not fantastic for ever day writing (especially not in my medium nibs). I've a bottle of MB's Racing Green on it's way over from Germany & now all I need is a nice, every day well behaved, waterproof ink.

 

I don't much care what color it is, just that it's waterproof & well behaved in a medium nib and (against my better judgment) I will pay out my arse for it. So, does anyone know of some solid, waterproof well mannered inks?

 

Thanks so much! In the mean time, I'll be browsing the Ink Review forum!

 

Noodler's #41 brown is so far the best behaved ink I've used in my lamy Safari, and can be used at 100% up to 50/50 dilution to suit your taste.

[Mr. Upright]

+1 for #41 Brown. It's behaves really well in my medium nib Waterman Hemisphere. I use it for research notes and I would loved to have used it as a student.

[jgrasty]

If I was a student these days I'd use a Pelikan M200 with EF nib and Noodler's Black. This combo writes well even on crappy paper like the cheap copy paper schools seem to use all over and works perfectly on either loose leaf notebook paper or el cheapo spiral notebooks.

Edited July 21, 2010 by jgrasty

[Pen Is Mightier]

I am a college student and my favorite ink for notetaking has been Waterman's black. While I don't think it is waterproof it has a rather fast drying time and is your standard black color. Although I know Noodlers does make many "bulletproof" inks which will stay on paper even if water gets on them, they make several different colors of bulletproof ink. I don't know how these inks behave as I have never tried any Noodler's, but I have heard great things about some of the bulletproof inks. Hope this helps.

Grant

[eslemexe]

If I was a student these days I'd use a Pelikan M200 with EF nib and Noodler's Black. This combo writes well even on crappy paper like the cheap copy paper schools seem to use all over and works perfectly on either loose leaf notebook paper or el cheapo spiral notebooks.

 

+1 Noodler's Black

 

I'm used it in a Safari F and works perfectly with cheap paper. The Bad Belted Kingfisher is very amazing too, this one survived to a split of water, is not very firneldy with all the papers. Other one which works good is the Noodler's Cayenne, I use it only for titles and side notes but it works very good in cheap paper too.

 

And one I don't recommend at all is the Lamy Black in cartridges (I guess the bottle version is different), why? I write a homework, like 12 pages or something and like 5 days after that the color became like a yellow-brown color, sadly I could not take pictures of that because my teacher keeps it that work.

 

In my case I use a lot J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune, Private Resevre Ebony Purple and Iroshizuku Yama-Guri

Edited July 21, 2010 by eslemexe

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

I will suggest 2:

• Pilot 'Blue' in bottles.
• Pelikan 'Blue-Black', (cartridges & bottles).

If you're pairing the ink with inexpensive (i.e. cheapest) paper, you may need to pay more for ink to offset problems (feathering, show-through & bleed-through) associated with paper that is not FP friendly. In that case, I would suggest using the iron-gall inks:

• R&K 'Salix' (bottles only)
• Montblanc 'Midnight Blue', in bottles.

All 4 inks are also very likely to be acceptable for hand-written assignments, forms use, photocopy/scanning, etc.

 

I have and use those inks, so my recommendations are based on personal experience, not some 2nd or 3rd-hand source.

 

As I don't always return to garden my Posts, please send a PM if you have other questions and/or want specific samples. Unfortunately I don't buy cheapest paper - I'm happy with penny-a-page HPJ1124, a 24 lb Laser Copy paper. But I do have the stuff that's used for fliers which I use to run-in a pen after inking.

 

Bye,

S1

[nvbrennan]

I'm currently looking at the sailor nano carbon inks (blu-black and black) for this purpose - i can let you know how i get on if you'd like. I start grad school next week.

[eherreid]

Maybe it's boring, but personally I'd go for plain old Noodlers Black. Well-behaved, writes on all but the lousiest paper, it's utterly waterproof, and cheap. And a dark color is easier on the eyes for studying. I'd keep one pen loaded with the Periwinkle for when I wanted to go back and write comments in a contrasting color.

[bassopotamus]

I like noodlers Heart of Darkness, but haven't tried it on cheap paper. It may feather/bleed worse than black bulletproof.

[ScottyEvil]

My experience with Noodler's waterproof inks and note taking:

 

Heart of Darkness - Great performance with cheaper papers in a M215 w/ Binderized fine, but got bored with it and wanted something with more pow.

 

Baystate Blue - Should you desire to have your notes permanently seared into your retinas, try it straight in a medium (an old Parker Reflex I had laying around). By the second page, I HAD to switch to another color. :roflmho: Feathers, but good behavior in a preppy for contrast or emphasis, though.

 

Brown #41 - Worked well on some really, really cheap paper from work (this stuff would make a ballpoint feather) but didn't play nice with my Estie SJ and would creep up from the sides of the nib. Upon my next ink shuffle, it will get another shot in a new combo. Looks great in an italic, but not practical for my writing speed.

 

La Reine Mauve - I tried a little but didn't care for the color in a M200 fine. A 1:1 mix with Nikita Red made for a lovely burgundy color (credit to Viseguy) that I liked, but haven't had time to mix up more. Some feathering in a Kaweco Sport M, but nice shading effect on my water resistant paper pads that was interesting. People had a tendency to stare at it, but couldn't explain why. Nice for notes that I want others to look at.

 

A 1:1 of Baystate Blue and Concord Grape (credit to RitaCarbon) produced a vibrant violet that was not disagreeable and performed well in a preppy fine with no feathering, which surprised me. Not great for contrast though. I repurposed it in a Kaweco Sport rollerball for odd ball things now.

 

Lexington Gray - I finally settled on this in my M215. I get a little feathering or a tiny bit of nib creep sometimes, but its easy on the eyes and photocopies and scans well for me. My current goto note ink. Its been described as liquid pencil and I'd have to agree. My favorite note taking ink for now.

 

 

For contrast & emphasis, I tend to use:

 

Baystate Cranberry - (now in the Parker Reflex M) Its very bright and looks like I used a cranberry for an inkwell. While I'm not crazy about the color, its effective.

 

Nikita Red - (not waterproof & now in my Estie) Feathers a little, but I like the look and shading.

 

Baystate Blue - In a Reform 1745 for my second review markups. I like the color, I just use smaller doses now.

 

 

My non waterproof experiences:

 

I'm using CdA's Caribbean Sea in a Merlin 33 for my general purpose writing and its a gorgeous color and well behaved. I hope to eventually find a more waterproof ink of similar color and qualities.

 

Waterman's Black - in a Phileas M and I wasn't impressed, but I'm still undecided.

 

Herbin's Vert Empire - in another Phileas M and is beautiful and shades wonderfully on my Rhodia papers. I'm not big on green, but I could use this if I had too.

 

 

Hope my experiences and observations are helpful.

[zwingtip]

Zhivago/Golden Brown!

 

Or, you know, just Noodler's Golden Brown. It's nice to look at and easy to read even though it's light. Shades well even on crappy paper. What's not to love?

[dizzypen]

Noodler's #41 Brown would be my first choice, but Noodler's Black is a decent second choice. Noodler's Legal Lapis is also quite nice.

[wallylynn]

I like noodlers Heart of Darkness, but haven't tried it on cheap paper. It may feather/bleed worse than black bulletproof.

I have HoD. I wouldn't use it on the blue test booklets. It's more penetrating and will most likely bleed through unless you have a drier/finer nib. It bleeds through my Moleskine. I don't have writing problems on 20lb copy paper.

Maybe it's boring, but personally I'd go for plain old Noodlers Black. Well-behaved, writes on all but the lousiest paper, it's utterly waterproof, and cheap. And a dark color is easier on the eyes for studying. I'd keep one pen loaded with the Periwinkle for when I wanted to go back and write comments in a contrasting color.

 

But beware the contrast. Don't go too dark. HoD is very black and can be blinding and stressful to the eyes on bright white paper.

 

I would suggest using the iron-gall inks:

• R&K 'Salix' (bottles only)
• Montblanc 'Midnight Blue', in bottles.

All 4 inks are also very likely to be acceptable for hand-written assignments, forms use, photocopy/scanning, etc.

 

I have and use those inks, so my recommendations are based on personal experience, not some 2nd or 3rd-hand source.

I'll also suggest Lamy Blue-Black (bottled), also iron-gall. It's lighter than the MontBlanc Midnight Blue. It's also much cheaper. The bottles are nice too. I use mine with a dash more blue to stand out more.

[deckerbj]

I can highly recommend Noodler's Bulletproof Black, especially in a finer nib/drier nib, as it behaves spectacularly on poor paper. For contrast, I have had great luck with both Platinum Blue Black (essentially blue) and Waterman's FL Blue.

[bassopotamus]

My experience with Noodler's waterproof inks and note taking:

 

 

 

Lexington Gray - I finally settled on this in my M215. I get a little feathering or a tiny bit of nib creep sometimes, but its easy on the eyes and photocopies and scans well for me. My current goto note ink. Its been described as liquid pencil and I'd have to agree. My favorite note taking ink for now.

 

 

 

 

Oooh, I like that suggestion. My only gripe with it is that it is sometimes not enough contrast for comofortable reading under low light.

[mooshi]

I'm in love with Noodler's Legal Lapis; a nice blue-black which to some eyes may seem a bit teal.

 

-- Moo

[karynv]

It was towards the end of last year that I found myself hopelessly in love (to the dismay of my wallet) with fountain pens. I've amassed a respectable 4 (2 Pelikan, 1 Lamy & 1 unidentified Cross) pens & as my first ink I chose Noodler's Periwinkle...a beautiful color, yet not fantastic for ever day writing (especially not in my medium nibs). I've a bottle of MB's Racing Green on it's way over from Germany & now all I need is a nice, every day well behaved, waterproof ink.

 

I don't much care what color it is, just that it's waterproof & well behaved in a medium nib and (against my better judgment) I will pay out my arse for it. So, does anyone know of some solid, waterproof well mannered inks?

 

Thanks so much! In the mean time, I'll be browsing the Ink Review forum!

 

As a teacher, I would recommend that you have one pen inked with a basic black or brown or dark blue ink, for assignments that you turn in. Then I'd ink up the other pens with a variety of fun colors for note-taking and to-do lists. Strategies: use a different ink each day; that will help you remember what you learned when. Or use one ink for notes, then when you review your notes (Cornell style), use a different color to annotate and write questions. If you keep a planner, different inks for different classes or different types of assignments are useful. Have fun! If you are a visual person, you'll find the variety of colors helps you remember things better, whether you use them in an organized fashion or not.

[Scriver]

For note-taking, I would recommend starting with paper color before ink color. Back in the day, I prefered green-tinted paper for taking notes, and I would recommend you try that. If you like that, then look for an ink that presents a pleasing contrast to the paper. A deep purple or indigo would probably work well, as would gray or black. I would think any of these would be fine for handing in assignments too.

[dmmcf]

I don't think you can go wrong with Noodler's Bulletproof Black. If the contrast is too much on bright paper, you might prefer to dilute it a little (I think Viseguy recommends 5:1 ink:water).